The American Enterprise Institute, a right-wing think-tank that has served as the home to many neoconservatives, hosted an event this week called Abraham’s Children: Race, Identity and the DNA of the Chosen People.

AKA, “Are Jews genetically smarter than other races?”

I thought we stopped talking about this last year after this article and cover in New York Magazine.

It seems one of the few voices of reason at the event was Prof. Laurie Zoiloth a bioethicist at Northwestern University, who I encountered briefly in college:

Judaism is about faith and values, she argued. To reduce it to biology is to make it exclusive, denying its openness to all. Worse, to suggest that Jews are genetically smart is to imply that non-Jews are inherently inferior, in violation of Jewish commitments to equality and compassion. (MORE)

Makes sense.

While I’m not totally opposed to addressing the issue, I think it should be done within the confines of science instead of think-tanks. Or in the realm of sensible humor, which Washington Post columnist Dan Milbank does nicely.

Note:
The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning.com are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy